Taking a 6 month sabbatical from work
 

It has been 17 years since I've had a real vacation and I'm burnt out. Since I left Silicon Valley in late 2001-early 2002 I have been on this never ending yo-yo of extreme highs and lows. At nearly 54 years old, I've faced a lot of self reflection of what I want out of the remaining part of my life, whatever that may be.

After working for 14 companies in that time and almost six with my current employer, I've decided to resign from a $100,000+ job and move to Scottsdale AZ to take a 6 month sabbatical from any and all work. My only job for the next half of year is to lose 75-100 pounds, get a great tan, and improve my golf game so I can have a 8 or 9 handicap again.

I'm leaving around the 16th or so of this month and spending a week or so driving out visiting friends along the way I know from my childhood.

While it was really scary to walk away from a great job to go to a place with no job, no home and just one or two friends there, I am really excited to be entering a new chapter in my life. :D

It is a short ride we are on so you better enjoy it along the way!

Good luck and have fun man. Sounds awesome!

Are you in a position to completely retire?

Good for you. Do it while you can.

I'm taking 2 weeks off. Feels like 2 months.

Enjoy it.

Losing 75-100 pounds will add several years onto your life. Sounds like a very smart decision to put your health before money.

Best of luck- you only get one shot at this thing called life, you might as well do what makes you happy.

Good luck to you sir. Take care of yourself.

I'm going to Europe for two weeks at the end of summer (i think you commented in my thread on it) I haven't had two weeks without working since I was a Junior in high school.

I cannot wait.

Good luck man. We weren't put on this earth to be mindless worker drones.

I retired the 1st time at 52 from a highly stressful job in a town I hated. The first few months were filled with buying a new home, getting it together (it was under construction when we bought it), and working on my golf game and drinking beer. But I did get bored after a while and went back to work just for something to do. Stayed there for 18 months and retired again. But I got antsy again after a couple years and found another job for 3 1/2 years. It was well paid and was in a field I was an immediate star in, but the 80 mile roundtrip daily started to wear on me. I now work 10-12 hours a week at something I love, I'm my own boss, and I'm able to turn down stuff I don't want to do.
So, if you can do it, go for it and don't look back.

I really like where I'm working at now. That said, it's stressful
I'm in the same kind of position you are Scho and I've definitely thought that when I leave I might take some serious time off. I worry a bit that it'll look bad when trying to get new jobs though.

I've also thought a lot about taking a step back in position. Something where I just went into the office at x hour and left at y everyday and that was all the job encompassed. I'm typing this sitting in the office on what looks like a nice saturday morning. Had a couple minutes waiting for something to run

good luck and get your batteries recharged. walking those golf outings for 6 months would go a long ways on shedding some weight.

Doesn't matter as long as Alex is the QB.

Awesome. Enjoy the time off.

My wife and I often ponder doing something like this. But every other year or so I take a month off to go wander, and I find that I'm really ready to get back to my normal life after that amount of time. My wife is the same way, though perhaps with an even shorter cycle. So it works best for me to go with more frequent breaks that are a month or so.

I think I'm going to take about 40 days off next year, though. If my plans work out, I've got a pretty cool trip planned, and it'll take that amount of time.

Oh, and just because we all look out for each other, you don't need to lose 75-100 pounds if you weigh under 175. Anorexia can be deadly.

Good Luck, Scho. Let us know when you get re-settled.

Good for you. :thumb: